Life is full of temptations and we are only human.
Any worthwhile personal goal is always under threat, as there are so many distractions to get us off course.
Personal budgeting is no different.
There are always things that tempt us to give up on our financial goals: attractive invitations; clothing bargains that are too good to miss; the latest phone.
There are so many things.
That is why we have to set priorities in our spending so our budget is not constantly under attack.
That is where a budget planner can help.
A Budget Sets Limits One of the reasons we have a budget is to set limits.
Will the latest invitation to a night out blow our budget? Will the clothing bargains fit into the amount we have allowed? Can we make up for this by not spending on other things? Maybe the answer is yes, because we can make adjustments as we go.
Maybe the bargains are things we need and we can save money buying them now.
That is different to buying something we do not need just because it is cheaper.
If we are consulting our budget planner regularly we will know what we can spend.
Buy What You Need It is sensible to look for bargains but make sure you buy what you need and as you can afford it.
You could do this by planning to buy at the end of season sales or, if sales come up at other times, do some adjustments in other areas.
You should be saving first and spending what is left, not spending first and then saving.
You are on track if your spending does not stop you from maintaining you savings program.
Worthwhile Goals Mean Some Sacrifice The hard part about having to set limits means you have to make some sacrifices.
No one really likes this, but at times it has to be done to achieve your objective.
If you feel you are being too hard on yourself, then see where you can make some allowances.
Plan to spend money on the items you want by consulting your budget planner to see if you can put them into your budget.
Then decide when and how often you will allow this expenditure.
You Need To Reward Yourself Maybe you can go out to dinner once every two weeks or once a month, rather than deny yourself.
This way you can reward yourself for your good habits and you can enjoy a night out without feeling guilty.
This applies to other areas of spending.
If you are too hard on yourself you will be tempted to give up on your savings.
On the other hand, you will not achieve your savings objective without some discipline and without some sacrifices.
Sometimes it is just a matter of deciding what is more important.
A budget planner makes it easier to make those decisions.